STARTING SOLIDS

When to Start: I recommend starting to try around 5 months, or as early as 4 months if they have reflux, as starting solids often improves reflux. If they’re not interested then you can try again in a week or two. Generally, they will eat it when they’re ready and won’t eat it when they’re not. Put a task in your calendar to try one time every Saturday or every other Saturday. But the time they turn 6 months, it’s good to start offering 1-3 meals a day, keeping in mind that a meal is only a few tablespoons.

How to Start: Just offer some puréed veggies and simply see what happens. Don’t stress about it or put pressure on it. See why I recommend starting with veggies here. You can just stick a cooked veggie in a blender or food processor with some water. A hack is to use the frozen microwave steam bags of broccoli or a regular adult can of peas or green beans and just blend it. This costs way less than baby food and has less preservatives.

When to Offer Solid Meals: I recommend adding solids onto meals right after the milk or up to an hour later. So if your milk feeds are at 7am, 11am, 3pm and 7pm, you may want to offer solids at 8am, 12pm and 4pm. It’s ok to just start with once a day and eventually work up to 3 times a day. Don’t worry about how much baby eats, they will take what they need. Don’t force it.

Enjoy it: Starting solids is FUN! It marks the moment when your baby can join the family at mealtime. Read my post on how to prevent picky eating from the start here.